So what your saying jef is as motorist have become more cacooned and less vunrable to death and injury driving standards have slipped with drivers being less aware of other road uses and of course road conditions and let's not forget cars have got faster !speed being one of the biggest contributing factor in RTAs .
Quote: Originally posted by robnchar on 02/3/2014
So what your saying jef is as motorist have become more cacooned and less vunrable to death and injury driving standards have slipped with drivers being less aware of other road uses and of course road conditions and let's not forget cars have got faster !speed being one of the biggest contributing factor in RTAs .
I did not say it..it was on a program tonight funny enough.
------------- New Year: Hesketh Bank
Feb/March: Red Squirrel
March: lakes
June: Morecambe
Aug: Lake District(not camping camping)
October: Red Squirrel
I used to cycle everywhere locally until I developed (not helped by variofocal lenses) a balance issue some 15 years ago. I still have my bike and dearly wish I could ride it. I find most cyclists locally (and we have single track roads) are considerate and get the same from the car drivers.
Big contrast in towns and cities, though, many seem to think they can do what they like. Just two incidences in Leeds: one in car in stationary queue (accident blocked road ahead)and engine off. cyclist in black lycra, on black bike with NO ligths hits my driver's front wind and then starts bashing my car and threatening me. He'd come down a side road on opposite side of the main road, in front of another vehicle to slam on the brakes and smashed into me. Thank God for the bus driver and passengers, plus the other car driver, for rescuing me and giving witness statements. B eejit didn't get much of a sentence - suspended - though but he did have an order placed on him to pay for damages to my car plus turns out his bike was a write-off and cost a surprising (to me) amount of money!
But the one that really infuriates me are the local authorities who allow cyclists on the pavement. My parents were knocked down on the pavement outside our then home in 1999; Dad was 100, Mum was 87. Both hospitalized for injuries,and, though my Dad did recover to die of old age at 97, my Mum still alive at 92 but pretty helpless never got over her injuries. The impact on them was huge; the impact on my son and myself is enormous now. I know it sounds vicious, but the cyclist (who just swore at them and my neighbours who saw what happened) tangled with something larger later and is now - as my Mum is - wheelchair bound permanently. Cycling on pavements should be banned - we were never allowed to.
Janey47, me and horses don't get on - I've been minding my own business so many times and in the correct place for my job and I still have been kicked, bitten, etc. But, I know fine how to behave round them!
Wonder how horses will react with all these super quiet electric cars?
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
Ficklejade, what an interesting point about electric cars, something I hadn't ever thought about!
The noise of a car is somehow reassuring for a horse, it's when some silent goes past they can't seem to get their heads around it.
If and when electric cars become more popular I'll have to twist someone's arm into driving past us whilst we're out riding to see how they react.
Sorry you've not had good experiences with horses, sounds like you've come across some little beasts!!
Act confidently around them (easier said than done sometimes ) and try keeping a packet of mint polos in your pocket for the odd bribe!
Janey - 3 years ago, a friend nearly got mown down on a camp site thanks to someone with a silent electric car - I kid you not (I was there and saw what happened)and that's one reason why manufacturers are looking into making them noisier! It is a very serious point, not only for horse riders, but cyclists and pedestrians.
I'm wary, but not scared of horses or donkeys (had two as neighbours for years who regularly announded to the entire village every time I went to our (outside only) loo but were delightful - if embarrassing! And shires seem to like me - as a leaning post! However, I do owe a horse belonging to the Hoursehold Calvary a favour - stuck mid island on way to an interview the darling thought my waist length blonde hair might be tasty. Arrived at interview slightly late and seriously dishevelled - got me the job at twice the then going rate!
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
Cycling. I am a Grod Botherer more than a Lycra Lout. I potter. I look around. I avoid the i-Sod. Try not to hassle people. Also where possible bugger off up the off road cycle routes out of everyone's way while I perambulate the neighbourhood. Not so easy when I'm making local deliveries and have to use the roads but there y'go!
Quote: Originally posted by tentage on 27/2/2014Seriously though, who rides a bike through the middle of a field? Nobody I know of.
I don't know where you live, tentage, but I live on the edge of the south downs, about a mile from the South Downs Way. I am also about a mile from a railway station that is only about an hour on the train from central London.
Walking the dogs here on summer weekends is a nightmare because of all the people out on mountain bikes, having brought them down on the train. It was one such that broke the pelvis of dog when he rode into it, while cycling on a public footpath that ran through the middle of the field, and avoiding the bridleway that he could have cycled on legally not 20 yards west of where he was cycling.
A local farmer who used to permit access across 2 of his fields has now locked the gates because of all the problems he has had with cyclists leaving gates open, chucking litter about and choosing to cycle through flocks of sheep. We are all now denied a pleasant walk because of these yahoos.
A friend fell off a bund down by the river when a cyclist came hurtling along behind her. The bund is only about 4' wide, and there wasn't room for both of them. Again, this was on a footpath where cycling isn't permitted.
They don't know the first thing about the countryside or how to behave in it, ignore waymarks and treat it like a bike park.
I find cyclists in the countryside far more of a problem than the ones on the roads. At least half the cyclists on the road seem half sensible, very few of the cross-country cyclists down this way show any consideration for others.
I live in the countryside. I've walked regularly in this area for years. I simply don't recognise this problem. The vast majority of cyclists I've encountered have been on paths they're permitted to use and have been totally considerate. The only problem I've ever had was with a motorbike rider, flying along a canal towpath. And that was clearly an isolated incident.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: People on bikes
